“The principle stance of the Russian Federation is that we do not deem ourselves obliged by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe during the forced absence of the Russian delegation in the works of the Assembly,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Polish Press Agency.
The ministry reasserted that the wreckage of the Polish plane is material evidence in the investigation currently being carried out by the Investigative Committee of Russia. The remaining parts of the plane “should remain in Russia until the necessary procedures have been completed, which is in accordance with the norms of the country’s legislation.”
The Resolution
Last Friday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe had accepted a resolution which called for Russia to return the wreckage of the Tu-154M plane which crashed in Smoleńsk in April 2010.
41 countries voted in favor of the resolution. 6 abstained from voting and none voted against it.
The resolution also emphasized that according to the Chicago convention, the country in which the catastrophe happened, has a duty to return the wreckage and other proof materials immediately when the investigation of the technical causes of the crash had been completed. The investigation was completed in January 2011.
In the document, it was underlined that Russia’s refusal is an abuse of the law. It was noted that these refusals lend to speculation in Poland that Moscow has something to hide in this case.
On April 10th, 2010, 96 Polish officials including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria Kaczyńska died in the plane crash near Smoleńsk.
